


Nothing Fake About It

by FanFareScribe



Series: Original Work [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Circus, Descriptions of Arachnids and Snakes on skin, Don't copy to another site, Fantasy, Gen, Happy Halloween, Horror, I don't want to use too much tags cause I want to avoid spoilers, Magic, Mystery, Starts off in the Second Person then goes to third, The Rating is just a precaution, Vampires, arachnids, circuses, creepiness, perspective changes, stay with me on this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 02:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21008363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFareScribe/pseuds/FanFareScribe
Summary: COME ONE, COME ALL!! The Sundown Circus is a delightful show that performs at night! The performers are so charming, if a little strange, and the Ringmaster always aims to amaze the masses! But what happens behind the scenes? One journalist, Ichabod Adams, eager to expose this troupe's lies, finds himself far too over his head the minute he sneaks in, as the Sundown Circus hides dark secrets he can't possibly imagine!





	Nothing Fake About It

The Present Night

The Sundown Circus opens on this very evening, everyone waits in anticipation. The giant indigo and magenta circus tent has been here for about a week, and you heard many great things about it. Fliers are laced throughout the town, around every corner, throughout every nook and cranny. You hear many clowns eagerly telling everyone about the circus. Delicious food! Fun games! Sights to be amazed by! 

Brilliant lights start to flicker on, all the lanterns strings decorating the colorful tent. The gates finally open and everyone clamors in, flashing tickets to the clowns you saw earlier. The clowns are many sizes, big, small, tall, short. One short one, dressed in a tiny harlequin suit, seems to get knocked over a lot, the poor thing. 

You hear whimsical circus music being played throughout the area. It has an air of mystery, but the overtones of joy and surprise can put you at ease and fill you with excitement. You smell buttery popcorn, savory meat vendors, sweet cotton candy. Every vendor is shouting at the top of their lungs, enticing people to gather around them! 

One man known as the Juggler is juggling knives and torches on his hands and feet! It looks very painful, but he makes it look like it’s the easiest thing ever! He is barefoot and his hair is in a frenzy, and he has a beaming face filled with joy!

One vendor is a spider person, it’s difficult to tell from her small stature and mannerisms what exactly her age is. She has dark blue hair that is in pigtails and red goggles on. She dons dark blue shorts and a red vest with a white bowtie on. She has the standard two legs and two arms, but two very large spider legs protrude from her back and are standing her up while her two regular legs dangle from the ground. With a big grin she shouts “COME ONE COME ALL! I AM THE TAMER, HERE TO SHOW YOU HOW THE MOST FEARSOME CREATURES CAN BE TAMED!” You take a look see and see her covered in tarantulas, snakes, reptiles, and scorpions! Everyone gasps in terror, but she grins. One of the legs on the Tamer’s back moves towards you and a venomous snake coil around it. It hisses deeply and then flicks your nose with its tongue. The audience applauses hesitantly as the snake returns and the tarantulas jump from limb to limb on the Tamer. The scorpions do a little dance when she blows a flute. 

You walk away and grab some cotton candy and some popcorn. But you get the feeling that someone is following you. You quicken your pace, but the one following you doesn’t linger or fall behind. You feel a hand grasp your shoulder causing you to whip around. You see a man in a jumpsuit, which has the Circus’ logo on it. Judging by his wheeled mop bucket, you can deduce that he is the janitor. His eyes are green but are absolutely dull; they have no sign of life in them. He has messy auburn hair, and skin paler than a ghost. The man opens his mouth to talk but all that comes out are pained gasps and grunts. It’s as if he’s trying desperately to talk, but you can’t determine what he is trying to say. You feel the grip on your hand tighten and shake, as you try to lean away from this man. 

Suddenly a chime is heard through the PA and a pleasant and cheerful voice sounds throughout the area. “Could everyone please take your seats inside the tent? The show is just about to start!” 

You turn around eagerly, and the hand disappears, as well as the man himself. You don’t have time to worry about him now, you’ve been waiting for this all day! 

After minutes of shuffling through crowds, you take your seat, popcorn in hand. As you munch on the popcorn you notice the stage down below is barren. It leaves you confused and a little curious as to how this is going to go. 

Suddenly the lights go pitch black. Drums can be sounded throughout the area and a spotlight appears in the center. Suddenly you see something winged drop in the middle of the spotlight, doing many twirls and tricks as it gracefully descends. You can’t tell what it is but squinting at the creature it looks like some sort of crow. The crow creature lands on its two feet and spreads its wings. Before anyone can look, smoke rises, obscuring the view, when it descends a statuesque and handsome man appears in place of the creature. The man is decorated in orchid colors and reds, long brunette hair descends from his head below the stunning top hat. His tailcoat touches the floor, looking as stunning as royalty. He twirls his cane and takes a bow, while everyone claps amazed. 

“Thank you, thank you!” He speaks into a microphone with a booming and charming voice. He’s confidently striding around the stage as he speaks, doing some twirls here and there. “But rest assured ladies and gentlemen, you will most certainly beg for more when we are through! I am the humblest Ringmaster, here to give you sights to behold at the Sundown Circus! A mysterious creature who can take on any shape of anything and anyone! A spider girl who can tame even the most vile and unruly of beasts! I am to share with you laughs, excitement, and mystery! LET THE SHOW BEGIN!” Everyone claps eagerly as he twirls to the side.

A giant man appears on the stage as the Ringmaster twirled away. He dons a very large trench coat, a trilby hat, large gloves and boots. But what stands out is that he’s wearing some sort of drama mask with the tragedy face. He poses with his arms in the air and suddenly his head extends, revealing he’s not made of flesh but of some pliable goo! He twirls his head in the air creating a spiral, as his gooey hands extend outward. His face somehow managed to transform into the comedy face, as he changes into different shapes and sizes! He even points at someone, urging him to do audience participation! Back in his smaller form he looks at the person standing on a podium with intrigue then, suddenly begins to shift, and form into the man standing in front of him! An identical copy! He then lifts the man AND the podium, showing incredible strength! He then flips the man in the air and catches him perfectly and poses. 

Everyone gasps and applauds! Your heart races with anticipation. The Ringmaster trots up to the stage as the mysterious person bows. “Let’s give a big hand to our Shapeshifter here! But we aren’t done yet folks! Your mind will be blown straight to the moon and beyond!” 

The show goes on with the Ringmaster announcing the different shows. The Tamer appears up next and shows how she can train mammals like lions, tigers, bears, and even a Bandleglott whatever that is! Everything looks ferocious and terrifying, but this tiny little girl has them all wrapped up in her little finger! After that, the clowns appear as well as the Juggler as their leader. They do various hilarious tricks, leaving you bursting your gut with laughter. The Juggler appears to be juggling knives as the clowns toss water balloons at him, but he manages to stab them all very nicely. He tosses one knife with his foot and the shortest, timid looking clown gets his shirt caught and he gets flown across the stage on the bullseye of a target. Your sides ache as you cackle. Then, suddenly kids start appearing on trapezes and doing various tricks. You don’t recognize these kids from outside, but Ringmaster introduces them as his children. They all fly through the air; some even look like they are floating! 

As soon as that thrill ends, the audience applauding and whooping, The Ringmaster twirls into view! 

“Now, for our next sight, my dearest friend will be taking the stage! He’s been with us the longest, longer than the circus as a concept! Please welcome, the enigmatic, MAGICIAN!” 

The stage is silent for a while but then suddenly, graceful ribbons of light appear from the spotlight and they twirl and twist, and with sparkles and grace, the Magician appears standing beside the Ringmaster. His hair is lavender with light gold eyes. He has a magenta coat and a blue undershirt with silver lacings. His leggings are black and white horizontal striped. He takes the microphone and the pleasant and cheerful voice that was on the intercom graces the stage. “Thank you, my lovely friends! You are to be admired! If you’ll please check under your seats, I have left a gift for you!” 

As soon as you look under your seat you hear a coo. Suddenly everyone is startled as turtle doves hop out from underneath the seat and into the sky. The turtle doves all take a diamond formation and suddenly they turn into a large white tarp and land on the Ringmaster.

“Oh dear. That could have gone better.” The Magician says as he takes off the tarp, revealing no one standing where the Ringmaster was. Magician crosses his long legs and taps his mouth. “That won’t do at all. Where has the Ringmaster gone?” He then flourishes and suddenly cubes made of light appear and reveal that the Ringmaster is perched up on the trapeze perfectly, posing like a model. 

“Ah! There you are my dear friend!” Suddenly the cubes, which shift in different sizes and shapes, start to float below the Ringmaster. The Ringmaster hops onto one and it floats to the other side as he hops down and then another cube appears below him. He’s flourishing, twirling, and dancing to the music, he looks at you and blows a kiss to you, and grins, revealing shiny sparkling teeth as he descends to the ground. 

The Magician twirls his hands a little and the cubes all form into one small cube. Then the cube bursts into many colorful fireworks and sparkles descend onto you all. 

“Way to turn the show around, Magician!” The Ringmaster says, taking the microphone back. The Magician snickers and bows as he skips away. “But don’t get too comfortable folks! We are not done yet!” 

You’re clapping eagerly, the evening couldn’t possibly get any better!

* * *

A Few Nights Ago

The journalist, Ichabod Adams, stomps out his cigarette as he looks at the horrible sight in front of him. The circus tent, that is closed to the public, looms above most every building. He scoffs as he looks through his notes. He’s seen the circus while on vacation in another town before and it failed to impress him. People in suits that look like goo, and clearly remote controlled operated, with mirrors to make it look like they are imitating people. A lady or girl dressed as a spider, with mechanical legs and cheap parlor tricks to look like she’s taming these creatures. The spindly magician using projectors to look like magic and wonder is real! 

Everything that loony the Ringmaster shows is a fake and a fraud. It’s a wonder that it went as long as it did. Funnily enough, he could never pinpoint the exact time the Circus came into being. The Ringmaster never does interviews, nor does any of the troop. But there’s no way that this group is actually magic. He’s heard of people claiming that aliens exist, that sorcerers are real, but if they are real why hasn’t he seen them?

But Ichabod has better reasons for being in this waste of space. He’s received words of people going missing, coincidentally as the Sundown Circus appears. 

Ichabod grins to himself. This bust will certainly make his career if it is true. Ever since he was a boy, he always loved exposing people for the fakes they were! From taking down teachers who framed children for what they didn’t do, to corporate executives who exploit their employees for their own personal gain! Of course, he’s received a lot of heartfelt gratitude and saved quite a bit of people. And the way he has received praise and has been proclaimed a hero, it feels like nothing he’s ever felt before! Taking down a well-known circus giant such as the Ringmaster and exposing him as a fraud will cause MORE people to see him as a hero, he will continue exposing these frauds, whatever it takes! 

He’s been keeping an eye on this circus, but unfortunately, he hasn’t been getting anything from the outside. He’s going to have to take a peek on the inside. He has his camera ready and his phone charged to call a getaway car if anything happens. He walks to the fence and looks at the signs. 

“No feeding the animals.”

“No photography or video to be taken.”

“No trespassing.” 

“Violators will be drained.” 

Ichabod rolls his eyes. How dramatic. He climbs the fence and goes into the circus which is eerie silent. It’s a bit odd seeing the circus, usually so full of life, so dead at night. Usually it’s only silent during the day and loud and annoying at night. The cool wind brushes against him as he sneaks around. It doesn’t look like there’s a lot of guards here, how pathetic. 

He steps into the circus tent and then everything is hushed. No wind, no rustle of trees, it’s like everything is soundproof to the outside world. He takes a gulp and lights up a flashlight as he looks around. Funny, there’s usually a stage around this area, but many walls and turns ahead of him makes it look like a maze. He takes a deep breath and walks through the maze, trying to find something, anything.

The journalist goes through a door which abruptly shuts behind him. Lights shine to reveal him surrounded with mirrors! He sees reflections of himself everywhere! He continues to move forward but what looks like a way out only turns out to be a reflection. He starts running in different directions, getting foiled by a slight of hand. Suddenly he feels like he’s being followed. He turns around to notice a reflection of himself staring right back at him. He fully faces him, which the reflection does in return. He tilts his head to the side; the reflection mimics him. Ichabod squints his eyes, and raises his finger, the reflection following suit. He touches the reflection’s finger but is met with a slimy and gooey feeling. “UGH!” The Investigator flings his finger violently, but the goo somehow manages to get all over his hand and face. 

Ichabod’s reflection grins as he opens his mouth obscenely wide and three large, venomous snakes slither out and thump on the ground. They slither around his ankles causing him to tense up. The Reflection grins and then points in the air, urging the Investigator to look up. He sees the cackling spider girl, the Tamer, dangling from the ceiling with her spider legs. She puts her hand on his head and he feels teeny tiny spiders crawling down him causing him to shriek and squirm. The Tamer giggles and lands on the shoulders of the Shapeshifter, who has taken on his usual giant obscured form. “Oh, don’t move a muscle, squirmy!” The Tamer whispers. “Their bite hurts more when you do.” 

Ichabod stills and clamps his mouth clamped shut, careful not to get any of the crawlies in his mouth. He can feel the spiders tickle his body as they explore it. When he flinches, some of them bite, leaving behind a sharp sting. The snakes hiss when he moves as well. Suddenly the Shapeshifter grabs him by the leg and throws him across the room into a door. He crashes on the ground and the spiders crawl away from him. He looks up and around. He notices yes looking at him, and he hears whispering. He slowly stands up and goes up to the whispering. He scrambles for his flashlight and turns it on. What he saw made him drop his flashlight. A bunch of horrified looking kids in a very small and uncomfortable cage. With their green tinted skin, they don’t look human. What on earth are these kids?! “O-Oh god! O-Okay! Let’s get you guys out of here.” He scrambles to the lock, but the kids protest in various ways, mainly telling him to stay away, and that he’ll get hurt! 

Before he can touch the lock, a whip is lashed out and grabs his midsection. He gets pulled away and lands on the ground. Suddenly he’s outside? But there’s something odd about it. It’s out in a dead valley, no sign of plant life, skeletons everywhere. It feels like an illusion, but it’s also terribly realistic! The stench of decay, the lonely air, it’s all too overwhelming!

“Oh god. This is a bad dream isn’t it?? It’s a fucking bad dream!” Ichabod curls up on himself. He hears a familiar yet, horrifyingly distorted voice ringing out of nowhere. 

_“Oh, my dear fool. Far from it.”_ A pleasant-sounding voice distorted voice echoes, but there’s an underlying tone of malice in it. Suddenly a four eyed six horned demon like humanoid appears in front of him. His eyes are pale orange and his skin is lavender purple. The outfit he wears gives away the fact that this is the Magician! But he looks nothing like a human anymore! _“You have more control of your dreams more than reality~” _

“Y-You’re the Magician!” Ichabod stumbles back and takes in this demonic form. He looks more spindlier and more menacing than he does as a human. “Th-This is impossible! Demons they…They don’t exist!” 

The Magician plays with his fingers as he circles the journalist. Clones of the Magician appear in his wake and continue to circle him. _“I’m afraid you flatter me. I am no demon.”_ One of the Magicians grabs him by the ear and lifts him up, eliciting a sharp painful yelp. _“I know you. You’re the journalist who was snooping around our circus lately. Ichabod Adams wasn’t it?”_ Before he could question how he knew his name, the Magician flung Ichabod elsewhere, and suddenly he feels like he’s falling through a spiraling void. He spins, spins, spins as he’s falling faster and faster. He lands on some hard tile floor, causing more pain than he received from the Shapeshifter. He feels queasy and dizzy, his whole head is under pressure. Magician’s voice echoes as he struggles to get up and run, _“You expose the corrupt and publicize their misdeeds, but I know the vileness underneath.”_ Ichabod halts when he encounters the Magician face to face, as the creature cracks a very wide and eerie smile. _“You revel in attention. You crave it. You don’t expose because it could keep people safe, you do it because it paints you as a hero.”_ Suddenly the Magician stretches up and more arms form from his torso, cracking sickeningly, and his mouth spreads wider as he leans down towards Ichabod’s face. Long thin needle like teeth unsheathe, and drool splash onto his face. _“Glory hounds like you don’t deserve to be called heroes.”_ The illusion centipede Magician devours Ichabod. He’s forced and flung into a hellish purgatory, hot, slimy, it feels like he’s drowning in tar. Ichabod screams but he can’t make any noise! He can’t breathe, he can’t think! He just wants out of here! He feels himself get slammed on the floor. It was just another illusion! He slowly stands up and puts his hand to his head. What was he thinking? This is bigger than his ego, this is bigger than trying to win a petty argument! Those poor children! He looks around, trying to search for the cage, and see if he can get them out of there. “Oh god, where are you…?” 

He feels a chill in the air, like all heat left the room. He barely has time to react as a couple of forceful hands grab his wrists and forces him onto some sort of platform! He struggles to no avail as clamps restrain his arms and legs. Suddenly lights go on. Ichabod looks around and notices that he’s on the stage that is usually in the tent. Looking around, he also notices that he’s on the spinning bullseye. Just as he thought this, he can feel the device starting to turn. It keeps spinning, spinning, spinning to the point of feeling dizziness and nausea. SHING! He can feel knives really close to his body. Once he stops spinning and collects himself, he looks up and notices everyone here. The Juggler, who was the one throwing the knives and the clowns looking absolutely giddy, with the exception of the small timid one who looks like he doesn’t want to be here. They don’t look human. All of them have long bat-like ears, large eyes, three fingers, three toes, and tails with fur on the end. The Magician comes into view with the Tamer and the Shapeshifter. 

_“I do hope that our Goblins haven’t harmed you too much. The Master wants you unharmed.” _

“Pluh-Please let me go! I swear I won’t tell anyone! Just please let me and the kids go!” 

_“Why would I let our children go?”_ Magician tilts his head, looking inquisitive. 

“Y-Your children?? You keep them in a cage! You force them to perform in shows! They’re not YOURS!”

“My oh my! You’re quite the chatterbox, aren’t you, Ichabod Adams?” A very familiar, boisterous voice sounds out. The Ringmaster strolls into the room, his boots echoing on the tile, in his iconic showman suit. Despite how flashy and flamboyant he looks, he exudes a sensation of power and dread. Each and every one of the Circus performers takes a slight step back, with the exception of the Magician, who grins and bows respectfully. The Ringmaster smirks and fondly puts a hand on the Magician’s shoulder. “I’ll take it from here, my dear friend.” The Magician makes no move though. He only grins wider. 

“My wife knows I’m here! When she finds out that---” Ichabod desperately starts only to be cut off.

“You mean the wife you don’t have? We’ve done our research the moment you started snooping on us, Ichabod. You live alone, no wife, no children. Just a cat. Maybe think, before putting all of your information on the internet?” The Ringmaster gives him an amused and predatory look, like a cat contemplating how to devour his meal. 

“M-My job! They’ll know that I’m missing! And it will look suspicious if I suddenly disapp--” Ichabod was cut off again, when the Shapeshifter strolls up and transforms into his copy.

_“Shapeshifter will cover for you for a few weeks, and quit your job for you, and sell your apartment. You’ve found another job opportunity you can’t stay in town for.”_ The Magician giggles.

Ichabod’s eyes widen as he struggles more. “You guys are sick! Evil! I won’t stand for this! I will escape and expose you!” 

The Ringmaster strolls up, showing his sharp features. Despite all the flashy makeup, he looks deathly pale. His eyes are orange and his sclera are black. Those orange eyes search Ichabod’s person. His gloved hand delicately takes the digital camera hidden in his pocket and gives the journalist an annoyed look. “I believe the signs said no photos or video.” He holds up the camera, flashes a sharp fanged smile and snaps a picture. He looks at it and pouts. “I’m afraid that I don’t photo well.” He shows the screen to Ichabod to show that the subject in question is not there. The photo is taken but it only shows the walls of the stage. 

His reflection can’t be seen. Those piercing sharp fangs… He can only perform at night… 

“You can’t be a vampire! Not a real one at least! This is all fake! This is all a nightmare!” Ichabod starts to sound even more desperate as he struggles to escape.

The Ringmaster straightens out his coat and smirks. “Nothing fake about it. Didn’t you read the sign? Violators of the rules get their blood drained. And my dear boy, you broke quite a few of them.” There is a low growl to his voice, as he circles Ichabod, a hungry look in his eyes. His long boney hands start to stroke his hair, claws piercing his head and drawing blood. The Ringmaster turns and looks him over. “Such pretty auburn hair. Exotic green eyessss. I heard you are an up and coming journalist. Well congratulations, _boy!_ You wasted all of your potential by breaking into MY circus!”

He licks the blood on his claws, then his face starts to deteriorate from looking charming to looking more like a feral beast. The dark rings around his eyes grow more pronounced, his cheek and jaw bones become more jagged and skeletal. His teeth grow sharper, even the teeth that weren’t sharp to begin with, making his jaw look like a hungry shark. Despite that he still talks, but sounds angrier, more primal. 

“I’m a simple man, boy. I enjoy control. I crave it actually.” He fixes his cufflinks as he starts to salivate. His eyes grow more beastly as he clicks his heels. “I don’t like leaving loose ends. We’ve been short on staff, and I’m about to give a hero like you, an offer you can’t refuse!” He leans down and his eyes start to glow as he stares deep into Ichabod’s eyes. “Be thankful, boy. A waste of space like you is usually better off as Bandleglott chow.” Before Ichabod could respond, the Ringmaster unhinges his jaw with an unworldly crack and gnashed on the journalist’s neck! He starts to scream, as the razor sharp pain pierces his flesh and goes through his entire body, but a stinger on the vampire’s tongue accompanies the bite, causing his body to grow numb against his will. Including his tongue and throat causing the scream to die down. As Ichabod Adams’ blood drains, so does his willpower, his emotions, his awareness. And then everything went black. 

* * *

The Present Dawn

You applaud wildly as the show ends! It was so entrancing that you lost track of time, and when you walk out, you can notice the sky is lighter than before. You see the cast smiling brightly as you leave the circus. 

As you are scrambling through the crowd, you bump into someone familiar. It’s the very same zombish janitor who grabbed you by the shoulders. He looks at you and tries to mouth something to you. You can’t determine what he’s trying to say, but he looks pleading, desperate. Before you could say anything to him, the Magician strides up and puts a forceful hand on the cleaner’s shoulder. 

“There’s a big mess in Box 5. Do take care of it, dear.” 

The man limps off as he takes the cleaning supplies. Before you could look at him more the Magician takes your attention. “I hope you enjoyed the show! We do hope to see you again!” 

You smile and then turn and walk off, the cleaner falling out of your mind. As you leave the Circus through the crowd, you encounter many of the performers greeting everyone and politely talking to people. You look back and notice the Ringmaster on a platform, underneath an awning, grinning down at the crowd with his flashy smile, he flourishes and bows, returning to form with a flick of his hair. The Magician stands behind him, leaning on him a bit as he waves pleasantly. You smile and turn leaving through the gates, going on with your life. 

* * *

The one of many thralls continues to clean the mess that is Box 5. The thrall has very little on his mind. Primarily to clean and to serve the Master. 

But there is one part of the thrall’s mind. It’s really far back. To the point that he barely notices it. The stubborn part of his mind that is focused on exposing the fraud and getting these kids out of here. 

_"We need to escape; we need to escape…” _

END

**Author's Note:**

> This is something for my universe in my brain. I wanted to write something for Halloween and play with my villains a bit. c:< If there is something in the story that should be warned about, please let me know and I'll write a warning. But thank you for reading. Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated.
> 
> Rebloggable Link Here! 
> 
> https://fanfarekid.tumblr.com/post/188310893315/nothing-fake-about-it-fanfarescribe-original
> 
> Come say hi!


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